By then declaring on Friday that Curry would not be traded rumors remain rife that a deal is simmering with the Phoenix Suns the Warriors showed even more exceptional judgment.

Curry is not going to cure the Warriors' dysfunctional virus. But he will make the team better offensively. Defense? He's got work to do. Curry, though, is someone that you want on your team if the mission is to do more than play "entertaining Basketball."

Is anyone else sick of "entertaining" Basketball and ready for "consistently competitive" and "intelligent" and "winning" Basketball? If so, then no deal the Warriors make should include Curry.

Heck, if it is a choice right now between keeping Curry and any other potential point guard on the team including Monta Ellis then I would keep Curry.

I have my reasons. Some were on display Friday when Curry's first official media conference in Oakland took place. Larry Riley, the Warriors' nominal general manager, said that the team drafted Riley to keep him, not trade him. Curry said he was "pretty confident" he would be a Warrior this season.

Then, following the formal press session, Coach Don Nelson the One True Large Decider made it official. Nelson's exact quote to reporters was this: "He can unpack his bags, he can relax, go buy a house because he ain't goin' anyplace."

Nelson did not elaborate. But here's my own thought: Curry ain't goin' anyplace because he immediately becomes the least likely guard on the Warriors to be involved in a future moped accident. And that matters.

If both Ellis and Curry are on the roster next season, it will be somewhat of a Petri dish to see how a guard with three years of NCAA Basketball under his belt compares to a similar player who came to the NBA right out of high school, as Ellis did.

Ellis, 23, is two years older than Curry and is obviously more physically advanced in NBA skills. However, Curry already seems more emotionally mature than Ellis. On first impression, anyway.

That's probably no real surprise. Curry's mother is a school principal and his dad is former NBA player Dell Curry. Together, the Currys actually founded the elementary school that Stephen attended in North Carolina. But as a high school senior, Stephen was only 6-foot tall, so he went unrecruited by major schools. He wound up at mid-major Davidson College, where he grew three inches and took over games at that level. His interviews since the draft have shown Curry to be both polished and humble, ready to play whatever role Nelson wants.

It is not the fault of Ellis that he came from a far more hardscrabble background or that he was drafted by the Warriors as a raw 19-year-old with zero college experience. But it is definitely Ellis' fault that at the start of his fourth pro season, both he and the people he hired to advise him were so tone-deaf and clumsy after Ellis' moped accident essentially ruined the Warriors' 2008-09 season.

And it is most assuredly Ellis' fault that he has spent the past several months asserting that he needs to be the team's controlling force on the floor. Guess I missed it when Ellis returned from his injury and spectacularly led the Warriors to the playoffs a few months ago. What's that? He didn't? Then why should Ellis have any say about anything?

The trade with Phoenix is a fine idea, if the mission is indeed to "win" now rather than "entertain" fruitlessly. Under any circumstances, the Warriors would certainly do well to acquire Suns muscleman Amare Stoudemire. But it would be crazy to make Curry part of the deal. The other Warriors names mentioned as part of that package Andris Biedrins, Marco Belinelli, Brandan Wright sound much more correct.

Or how about trading Ellis for Stoudemire straight up? I would seriously think about it especially if Ellis is sending off vibes that he will pout if he's playing too many minutes at off-guard next season rather than at the point.

From watching Curry as a college player, it's clear that he has an idea of where the Basketball should go but needs to develop the mechanics to execute those decisions at the NBA level. Ellis, by contrast, has all the talented mechanics in the world but frequently seems to have no idea where the ball ought to go.

I think that is also what Nelson sees. And I think that's why Ellis would be smart to start acting his age. Before the younger guy shows him how.

Contact Mark Purdy at mpurdy@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5092.